Clubhouse gives people with brain injuries a place among friends

After lightning struck Patrick Welch in 2003, his parents struggled to find a place where he felt like he belonged.

For that reason, Lori and Tim Welch started the Illinois Valley Brain Injury Clubhouse in 2009, opening doors for others in the community who had their lives changed forever by an accident or illness.

Supervisor Julie Donahue said members range in age from their 20s to their 60s, with injuries caused by things like accidents, falls, strokes and overdoses.

“It’s important for them to know that they are not alone,” Donahue said. “They understand each other in ways nobody else will.”

People with brain injuries are often incapable of returning to work or holding a full-time job due to their injuries.

The clubhouse at 509 E. Broadway St., Streator, leads outings and activities like art, tai chi and cooking classes for its members, as well as taking them on outings to see movies or go hiking or swimming at the YMCA.

Director Tonya Carter said they do these things to get members out and comfortable in public, and to also help promote awareness for people with brain injuries.

“People don’t realize how sensitive your brain really is,” Carter said. “Concussions from baseball or football or other sports can really add up. Brain injuries can change personalities as well. Not everyone is the same person from before their injury as they are after.”

Donahue said they want to encourage hospitals and doctors to discuss the effects of brain injuries with their patients because they are not a well-discussed topic in the community.

Carter said the clubhouse relies on many volunteers as well.

“Any time you volunteer, it's fulfilling, but you really get a sense of who people really are here,” Carter said. “Even though they’ve been through so much, they’re so caring.”

The Welches left at the end of 2018 to sail the Great Loop, a waterway circling the Midwest down through the Gulf of Mexico and around Florida before cutting through New York toward Canada and the Great Lakes.

The Illinois Valley Brain Injury Clubhouse is holding a craft and vendor fair Sunday, April 7, with proceeds going toward the everyday operations.

“We’re one of three Brain Injury Clubhouses in the state, and we’re the only one outside of Chicago,” Carter said.